Why Parker Barras welcomes leisure sector revival
REAL ESTATE
RAISING THE BAR
Cheers - John Taylor of Parker Barras at The Corner House bar on Duke Street in Darlington .
Why Parker Barras welcomes leisure sector revival
A
revival in the leisure and hospitality sector spells good news for commercial property specialists Parker Barras . And nowhere is that resurgence more apparent than Darlington , where the awardwinning firm has been involved in several recent property deals .
Town centre bars The Corner House , Hoskins and Avalon are all on the verge of exciting new eras – and all have benefitted from Parker Barras involvement .
And those sorts of developments , says Parker Barras MD John Taylor , bode well for the hospitality sector ’ s revival after Covid , and the recent cost-of-living crisis .
He told Tees Business : “ The leisure sector has had a very turbulent time over recent years to put it mildly . Even the last year has seen tough trading conditions , with the rise in interest rates and rising inflation . But we ’ re seeing energy bills start to settle down and people starting to evaluate the venues they ’ re running . And now we ’ re past January and February , there are plenty of deals being done , which is extremely positive .”
Parker Barras specialises in sales and lettings of commercial property , as well as business sales . It doesn ’ t charge up front fees , only upon completion , and offers a free market appraisal , whether that ’ s for a business or a building .
Named the most active dealmaker in County Durham and North Yorkshire by the Estates Gazette , its proven expertise and extensive contacts book mean it ’ s regularly the first place people turn to when wanting to sell or take on a new business venture . In Darlington , its most recent deals include The Corner House ( formerly Dukes and Frasers ) – a well-known building , on the corner of Skinnergate and Duke Street , that was purchased by local property developers who looked to add value to the building by creating two high-quality apartments , as well as fully refurbishing the downstairs bar area . Working off-market , Parker Barras secured an operator for it and advised on some of the works that were carried out .
John said : “ Our role is generally to facilitate sales and lettings or business transfers . In the case of the Corner House , it was mainly to find a tenant , but we didn ’ t even have to put it on the market because we had somebody .”
Other recent Darlington deals included :
> Hoskins ( formerly Barracuda , Humphreys and , going way back , The County Hotel ): Parker Barras was approached by the owner and a sale was quickly agreed offmarket .
> Avalon ( formerly The Falchion ): The outgoing tenant contacted Parker Barras , who they ’ d dealt with previously , saying they were leaving and the brewery might be looking to sell . A deal for a buyer was soon secured .
> The Three Tuns , Sadberge : Within two weeks of the tenants saying they were looking to leave , a new tenant had been secured – again off-market . John explained : “ We are doing more and
WORDS : DAVE ROBSON PICTURE : CHRIS BOOTH
more ‘ off market ’ deals where someone will want to sell something or potentially to rent it out but , for whatever reason , they don ’ t want it to go on the open market .
“ Over the last 18 years we ’ ve accumulated a very large network of people where we can place buildings and bits and pieces – and the properties in Darlington are good examples .
“ Take Hoskins . The owner approached us and straight away we said we ’ d have someone who ’ d be interested in it . “ We spoke to the client on the Friday and had terms agreed by the Monday – that ’ s how rapidly we can move .
“ We deal with all the major North-East towns but Darlington in particular seems to be buoyant - it does seem very vibrant , hence why people are keen to buy buildings and refurbish them .
“ And the leisure sector in general is certainly something we want to develop . The deals we ’ ve done in the past few weeks are evidence we have our finger on the pulse in this region and are the ‘ go to ’ agent to get these deals done .
“ The leisure sector seems to have turned the corner and there are plenty of deals happening at good prices so if anyone ’ s looking to sell , let or dispose of their business , I ’ d urge them to get in touch with us .”
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